April is DNA Month and we want to celebrate it with you by sharing a few of our fantastic RootsTech presentations on the subject. Take a look and remember that RootsTech learning is available all year long! To take advantage of their webinar library hit here
We have received many generous donations and are almost halfway to our goal. Some of the donations were sent via our website bringing our total to $2134 leaving $2866 remaining. We humbly thank all those who have participated and encourage everyone to spread the word. Please remember that 100% of the donations go to the project and are tax deductible.
Hispanic Heritage Project
If you wish to donate directly to their funs, is the link to our Go Fund Me page, https://gofund.me/dfe0a6fb
To watch the video, hit here
Two years ago in 2018, wife did her AncestryDNA and was very pleased with what the results showed. In the 2 years since, the DNA company has updated my results 2 times to regions I feel is more accurate. Finally the wife was able to purchase 2 kits for her husband, Joe and daughter, Jada. The results came back on the 15th and most of the info is what we suspected....that is....until Joe discovered an unbelievable family connection.
We received the following news from Hispanic Research Project, which we wish to share. As a non profit organization, GSHA-SC in the past has supported this organization in monetary sum to help buy equipment for the preservation of records in the Hispanic realm for posterity. This week the board of GSHA-SC has authorized another donation to help them purchase equipment. If you as an individual member or supporting wish to donate directly to the cause, the board had authorized us to advertised the link below to the membership.
"Exciting News! The Hispanic Heritage Project and a representative of FamilySearch will be meeting together with the director of the Archdiocese in Chihuahua, Mexico May 2, 2022. I will be presenting our plan to place a scanner there so that the ecclesiastical documents can be digitized something very important to the Diocese."
"FamilySearch will provide a contractor to digitize the sacramental records however they are not authorized to have access to the ecclesiastical ones. By providing a scanner, the Diocese can then digitize their own ecclesiastical records and at the same time, those missing records that were not originally microfilmed by FamilySearch. The public will then have access to these documents on a fee basis providing income for the Diocese."
"However, we need funding to purchase the scanners that we plan to also place in additional parishes, dioceses, and archives. Furthermore, we have a request to provide a Franciscan archive with a scanner. Please go to this link to learn further details of our plans."
Hispanic Research Project
What is Who Do You Think You Are? USA? Where is it showing? When is it next on TV? What celebrities have appeared on the family history TV show?
To read the article in full, hit here
Who Do You Think You Are? USA is the American remake of the British family history TV series Who Do You Think You Are? It is a partnership between Shed Media, NBC Entertainment and Ancestry.
Where is Who Do You Think You Are? USA showing?
Who Do You Think You Are? USA was first shown on NBC in 2010, where it ran for three seasons before being cancelled in 2012. It was then picked up by TLC, where it aired for seven seasons, with the last one being broadcast in 2018. In 2019, it was announced that the programme would return to NBC, with an eleventh season announced in 2022.
When is Who Do You Think You Are? USA next on TV?
The new series of Who Do You Think You Are? USA is due to premiere on 10 July 2022 on NBC.
Who has appeared on Who Do You Think You Are? USA?
Previous seasons of Who Do You Think You Are? USA have featured celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Martin Sheen and Rachel McAdams. The new season will feature actors Allison Janney (The West Wing, I, Tonya), Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, The Handmaid’s Tale), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), Billy Porter (Pose), Zachary Quinto (Heroes) and Zachary Levi (Shazam!)
Is Who Do You Think You Are? USA available to stream?
Who Do You Think You Are? USA is not available on online streaming services, but series 1 and 2 are available on DVD.
To read this article in full, hit here
As genealogist, we tend to know more than our relatives. An Ancestry’s new survey found there’s a ‘knowledge gap’ in many American families.
More than half of Americans don’t know the names of all four of their grandparents. That’s what a new survey from Ancestry found; it gathered responses from 2,113 Americans. OnePoll conducted the survey on behalf of the genealogy company in March, and it determined that 53% of Americans can’t name all of their grandparents. "When you look at the survey findings broken down by age, it was still fairly high across the board," a spokesperson for Ancestry wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
"We found 53% between ages 26-41 couldn’t name all four, 61% between ages 42-57, and 30% of those ages 58-76." Ancestry’s survey also found that 66% of Americans say they want to learn more about their family history and 51% want to hear stories about what life was like when their ancestors were young. "Listening to family stories can be a great starting point to learn about your family’s past, but details can get lost as they are passed down for generations," Ancestry’s emailed statement goes on. The company’s commissioned survey was intentionally published to go along with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration’s release of the 1950 census, which became available for public viewing on Friday, April 1. About 151 million records are associated with the 1950 U.S. Census archive, the genealogy company reports.
To read the article in full, hit here
It’s never been easier to piece together a family tree. But what if it brings uncomfortable facts to light?
This article brings to life another story disclosed by uncovering facts by author Colin Dickey.
National DNA Day is a United States holiday celebrated on April 25. Most of the DNA companies will be sponsoring big sales before it ends. It is in recognition to celebrate the day in 1953 when James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin and colleagues published papers in the journal Nature on the structure of DNA. Furthermore, in early April 2003 it was declared that the Human Genome Project was very close to complete, and "the remaining tiny gaps were considered too costly to fill." In the United States, DNA Day was first celebrated on April 25, 2003, by proclamation of congress.
Take advantage of the lower cost and always test the oldest relatives first.
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There may have been poorer nutrition and increased disease for the first farmers in Europe, report experts at Penn State University.
Academics looked at bone measurements and DNA of ancient European people
Those who lived when farming started 12,000 years ago were generally shorter
There may have been poorer nutrition and increased disease for the first farmers
To read the article in full, hit here
Our ancestors got shorter when they made the switch from foraging to farming 12,000 years ago, a new study shows. An international team of researchers has analysed DNA and taken measurements from skeletal remains of 167 ancient individuals found around Europe. The bones had already been dated to either before, after or around the time when farming emerged in Europe 12,000 years ago.
A switch from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to farming crops took an average 1.5 inches off their height, the experts found. Shorter height is an indicator of poorer health, they say, because it suggests they were not getting enough nutrition to support proper growth. These first European farmers likely experienced 'poorer nutrition and increased disease burdens' that stunted their growth. Other skeletal 'stressors' that the farmers may have experienced include 'lorotic hyperostosis', characterised by areas of spongy or porous bone tissue in the skull.
Came across this headline while viewing other blogs and thought it was worth it to share with our members. To read the article in full, hit here
Janine Adams, a professional organizer and a genealogy enthusiast, loves doing family history research, but finds it's very easy for her to get overwhelmed and not know where to turn next. She hares her secrets in organizing her data.
In the past, our organization has helped with the promotion of webinars that the Los Angeles Public Library's Genealogy Garage puts on for the general public. Even though we are a Hispanic genealogy group, we promote the education and knowledge that one may obtain from these presentations. Who knows if your ancestors may have some connection to these areas. Since they our free online via YouTube or Facebook, we are letting our members know that these courses are available to you if you sign in to YouTube or Facebook. Information to see the streaming live are below.
FamilySearch International has started an exciting Family History initiative for April and May. It is their new ‘Get Involved’ indexing app. Just download the app to participate in ‘reviewing names’ for the 1950 census. The 1950 data is the latest release from the U.S. Census. By law, the U.S. Census makes the data collected 70 years prior available to the public, so 1950 is the most recent available.
Here is how it works: handwriting recognition software scans the census to generate an index of names. These names will be reviewed for accuracy and edited for correction when needed. That’s where you come in: you help review batches. One batch contains 20 indexed names that generally take about 2 minutes to review, edit, or skip over. The app allows your experience to be more personalized by being able to review records from a specific location that has meaning to you. So, if you are interested in a particular area in Utah, Georgia, Ohio, or anywhere else in the U.S., you can do that. You might even find your ancestors. After the review, the names are saved on FamilySearch and become searchable by anyone, like any other records.
The census will release the 1950 records on April 1. Batches of computer-indexed names will load into the ‘Get Involved’ app for review.
This is your opportunity to participate in this “once in a decade” work. It is an opportunity to learn more about your family recorded in the census.
There are three activities to the review project
• Name Review
• Family Review
• Header Review
You can find out more about the app & the review process here.
You, your family, and your community can help tell the story of all our ancestors. You can download the app via the App Store or Google Play by searching “FamilySearch get involved” (blue family tree icon).
Thank you, and enjoy the experience of bringing to the world the details of our families.
Sema Hadithi Foundation.
When: Apr 9, 2022 10:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time (US and Canada)
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0ode-hrjkiGtVuzXfqbVeZei5evqTXzF0I
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Indigenous slavery often appears as a footnote in histories and genealogies of the Spanish colonial period and beyond. Even in the historical record, enslaved individuals were often not the focus of the documents in which they appeared. These enslaved individuals are often listed in genealogical records as criadas, sirvientes, or genízaros, among other similar terms. This institution of slavery raises two specific questions for genealogists: First, did enslaved individuals influence our genealogy? Second, is it possible to trace the arc of their lives and identify their descendants?
Dr. Aaron Taylor recently joined a digital project headed by former New Mexico State Historian Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez called Native Bound-Unbound: Archive of Indigenous Americans Enslaved. In his talk, Dr. Taylor will provide a brief overview of indigenous slavery in the colonial period, followed by stories and research regarding indigenous slavery in his own family tree. He will wrap up his talk with thoughts on how we can investigate and recognize indigenous slavery in our own research.
To watch the video, hit here
This couple tried Ancestry DNA and "23 and me!"? In this video they discovered the truth behind their background. Heritage, DNA, and ancestral history can be super exciting to know about and they were both glad that they did this! f you want to see their Ancestry Results click this link: https://youtu.be/ZYnYFaAg69I
To watch the video, hit here
The two discuss 0n their YouTube channel their results. The couple's channel is all about love, laughter, and positivity.
